In response to your request for information about the following:

Q1. A copy of all relevant privacy notices and Data Protection Impact Assessments relating to your activities in sending 'enquiry letters' such as your letter dated 13 April 2023;

Q2. A detailed explanation of NHSBSA's purported authority to issue Penalty Charge Notices to individuals in the absence of any credible evidence of wrongdoing;

Q3. Details of the controls, processes and procedures that NHSBSA has in place to check and confirm the accuracy of the information on which it relies when making allegations such as those set out in the letter (including copies of any documents where such controls, processes and procedures are in writing); and

Q4. A copy of any and all terms and conditions, contracts, policies and other documents that govern the relationship between NHSBSA and the third party or parties that may have provided you with the false information that prompted you to make the Allegations.

Response

Question 1

Under Section 21 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you. The information you requested is available from web link https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/our-policies/privacy

Question 2 and 4

Enquiry letters and PCNs are issued in line with The National Health Service (Penalty Charge) Regulations 1999 which can be found at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1999/2794/contents/made

Question 3

When a prescription is received which has been signed as the patient being exempt from prescription charges a data matching exercise is instigated. If no exemption is found through this search / exercise for that patient an enquiry letter is issued to the patient which invites them to contact us to confirm the exemption, they have in place.

Please note that this request and our response is published on our Freedom of Information disclosure log at: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-01160